Dennis Man dazzled with three assists as Romania cruised to a 3-0 win in their Euro 2024 opener against Ukraine on Monday, their first win in 24 years at the finals and only a second overall.
The Romanian defence kept Ukraine at bay and then broke the deadlock in the 30th minute from Nicolae Stanciu after a big mistake by Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
After latching onto Lunin's sloppy pass for the first goal, Man went on to set up Răzvan Marin in the 53rd and Denis Drăguş four minutes later for Romania's biggest victory at a major men's event.
Ukraine's first attempt on target did not come until the 77th minute, when Georgiy Sudakov was denied by Florin Nita.
Romania were playing their 17th match overall at the finals in their fifth participation. The only previous victory was a 3-2 win over England in 2000 when they reached the quarter-finals.
"It's a memorable victory, a historic victory for the Romanian people, at least that's how I have felt it," coach Edward Iordănescu said in a news conference.
Romania top Group E ahead of the clash between Belgium and Slovakia later on Monday.
Ukraine qualified for the tournament despite not playing at home in more than two years due to the Russian invasion. Ahead of the Euros, they had called on European nations to keep supporting the country in difficult times.
Coach Serhiy Rebrov and his players have also stressed several times that they are playing for the people fighting for their country, but that football is not the priority at the moment.
Stanciu: Happy to be part of history
Goalscorer Stanciu was named Man of The Match and said the team was "very happy" with such an important win.
"It's a second victory overall in the Euros and we're happy to be part of history," he said.
"[The support] was unique, we've never felt anything like this before. My siblings, my father and my wife all had tears in their eyes. I'd like to thank them all and I hope we've made them very happy today."
Ukraine can't convert possession into chances
Ukraine started the game dominating posession, but Romania closed any possible spaces, allowing their opponents no chance. Their defensive stability paid off when they broke the deadlock in the 30th.
Ukraine keeper Lunin made a terrible mistake in the build-up and gave the ball to Man deep in the Ukrainian half. Man served Stanciu, who fired a tremendous shot into the net from the edge of the area.
Mykhailo Mudryk tried to cause some trouble after Romania's opener with twists and turns in the box, but the opponents stayed strong to block him and eventually clear the ball away.
It didn't take Romania much time into the second half to increase their lead and again with a little help from Lunin after Marin finished off a fast counter-attack and the ball flashed under the dive of the keeper in the 53rd.
And just four minutes later, Romania sealed the win as Man dribbled through the Ukrainian defence to provide his third assist of the match, this time to Drăguş, who poked the ball into the net.
Ukraine still had more possession in the second half and tried their best in the final minutes to at least pull one back, but Sudakov was denied by Nita in the 75th, while Roman Yaremchuk only hit the woodwork in stoppage time.
"I'm really disappointed with our performance. Today, we were not the team we always were. Romania deserved this win, and we have to keep going," Ukraine captain Taras Stepanenko said.
"We controlled the game, we were on the ball, but we were punished immediately for the first mistake," he added. "We have two more games and we have to be strong and change the situation."
